In the second half of the night, Zhuge Ming woke me.
He went to sleep, and I took over the watch for the rest of the night.
Until dawn, I kept wondering whether someone would come knocking tonight.
But I stayed on watch until daylight without hearing a single knock.
All the knocking before had been Gou Dan alone.
But the young Gou Dan had already grown old, and the old Gou Dan had already passed away.
As for Shen Zhiyi, she hadn't been with the elderly Gou Dan, so she had evidently passed away even earlier than he had.
So no one would ever come knocking again.
After daybreak, I caught up on sleep until noon.
That afternoon, I went out with Zhang Rong to gather firewood and dig up some wild vegetables along the way.
Something occurred to me on the way, so I asked Zhang Rong, "Senior brother, when Grandmaster tested me before, he told me to kill Wang Meilan's child, that baby."
"If I'd actually done it, that baby would have died."
"Grandmaster couldn't possibly play around with a human life just to test me. Was someone watching me back then?"
Zhang Rong didn't dare look at me, his gaze shifting evasively. "I... suppose so..."
I asked him, "Were you the one watching me?"
He sighed. "Junior brother, it's hard to disobey a master's orders. If Grandmaster told me to go east, how would I dare go west..."
"Besides, I could tell long ago that you were talented. My admiration for you is as endless as a mighty river!"
"Even if you'd tried to do it and I'd come out to stop you, I would've lied to Grandmaster and the others afterward to help you pass the test."
I nodded. "Thanks, senior brother. You're such a